Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge (CMMBR)

Just to remind folks, check out the link I listed yesterday, http://opinionnow.co.uk/cz-surv-us0707/. By taking the optics survey (no personal information is collected if you choose) you will be helping to supply information of what birders are looking for in a quality pair of optics. It literally only takes five or so minutes, or at least that's as long as it took for me to complete the survey. At the end you have the choice to enter the raffle for a chance to win a pair of high quality, $700 optics. Unfortunately, I cannot enter the raffle since I work as a dealer of optics but you could win. Take a chance and help to formulate the optics of the future.

Anyway,.....

Went to TNC's Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge this morning. Since this is the shorebird time of year, so to speak, it seems fitting to take advantage of the numbers of species that can be seen in Cape May this time of year. Though, the numbers of birds at the refuge this morning were not spectacular. There were birds to be seen but not in the numbers there were a week or so ago.

There are a number of reasons this could be the case. Personally, my guess is that low tide was the culprit. Being that low tide for the Atlantic portion of Cape May is listed as 6:18 a.m. on my favorite tide site (http://www.saltwatertides.com/) this hypothesis would seem to be corroborated at least a little. Low tide, leaving too many other good feeding locations open.

With the weather forecast being what it is; the plan is to hit Higbee Beach WMA in the morning since there is a cool front moving through and so far the wind forecast is to be NW over night. I am determined to find a Cerulean warbler this year and August is the time to do so. Soon enough and it's time to start visiting the Morning Flight Project at the dike near the ferry terminal. If you don't know where the morning flight is located take a look at the CMBO Birding and Butterflying map http://www.birdcapemay.org/downloads/capeislandcmbomap2007.pdf, this a phenomena not to be missed in the fall.

Anyway, get out and see what the NW winds bring tomorrow morning. A list of the species observed is below.

Location: South Cape May Meadows
Observation date: 8/4/07
Number of species: 42
Canada Goose 12
Mallard 7
Northern Bobwhite 1
Great Blue Heron 2
Great Egret 2
Green Heron 2
Black-crowned Night-Heron 2
Osprey 2
Semipalmated Plover 2
Piping Plover 3
Killdeer 4
American Oystercatcher 3
Lesser Yellowlegs 4
Spotted Sandpiper 2
Sanderling 32
Semipalmated Sandpiper 9
Least Sandpiper 48
Pectoral Sandpiper 3
Short-billed Dowitcher 3
Laughing Gull 230
Ring-billed Gull 9
Herring Gull 12
Great Black-backed Gull 28
Forster's Tern 8
Least Tern 60
Mourning Dove 6
Eastern Kingbird 1
White-eyed Vireo 1
American Crow 4
Tree Swallow 15
Barn Swallow 5
Carolina Wren 3
Gray Catbird 2
Yellow Warbler 5
Common Yellowthroat 2
Song Sparrow 3
Indigo Bunting 6
Red-winged Blackbird 4
Common Grackle 6
House Finch 34
American Goldfinch 3
House Sparrow 15
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/)